The present invention relates to an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) designated as var. Sujata.
An opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic var. Sujata of opium poppy has been developed by induced mutagenesis (mutation breeding) in an otherwise narcotic (with opium and opium alkaloids both) strain Mass-2B of opium poppy. The var. Sujata is also attributed with high yield of seeds which are rich in protein and oil content both. As such, the variety offers a cheap and permanent means of combating opium-linked abuses across the world. Besides, it also offers a nutritious food item (seed) of high caloric value and largely unsaturated vegetable oil which might serve as a dietary control of coronary heart problem.
Opium poppy is commercially cultivated in a large number of countries, such as Tasmania (Australia), Turkey, Austria, Holland, Poland, Romania, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Italy, France, Spain, erstwhile USSR, Yugoslavia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, India, China, Iran, Iraq, Afganistan, Pakistan, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, etc. covering an area of around 270,000-300,000 ha. across the world. However, based on official records of the International Narcotic Control Board (INCB), Vienna, the area under poppy cultivation way only 37000-56000 ha. (1989-1993) for licit production of opium. Poppy cultivation in India covered 29,799 ha during 1996 for legal production of opium.
However, since opium and opium alkaloids, particularly morphine are addictively narcotic; their illicit production and illegal transactions have perpetuated over centuries worldover. As a consequence, INCB which regulates the opium poppy cultivation in the world, has permitted all the poppy growing countries, except India (with strict licensing system and vigilence exercised by the Narcotic Control Bureau. Govt. of India) to cultivate only straw (CPS) varieties for seeds and not for opium. But these CPS varieties are not free from opium which can be collected by unscrupulous growers for illegal users. Hence, there was a need always fell to combat opium-linked social abuses which has now assumed a serious proportion at global level. Around 17 million people all over the world are opium addicts and about half as much to heroinxe2x80x94a chemical derivative of morphine which is the major component of opium. Development of a plant-type (CPS variety) with neglegible or no narcotic alkaloids in poppy straw was therefore suggested by Liersch and Krzymanski (Postap. Nauk. Rolniezych. Vol. 40/45: 99-100, 1993). Genetic and chemical investigations in Germany revealed that CPS vars. Soma (Sweden) and Przenkc (Poland) had morphine content as low as 0.01% in straw (capsule hulls), and a new cross-bred line RM 9/95 possessed even less than 0.01% morphine, which conforms to the requirement of the German Federal Health Agency (Nothnagel et al., Proc. Intern. Symp. Breeding Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Jun. 30-Jul. 4, 1996, Quedlinburg, Germany, pp. 120-123). In India also, an accession CIMAP-OP1 was reported to have low alkaloids (0.05% morphine, 0.001% codeine, 0.051% thebaine, 0.13% papaverine and 0.087% narcotine) in straw (Bajpai et al., Plant Breed, Vol. 115: 425, 1996). But again, these strains with low morphine accumulation in straw are not devoid of opium. They can be lanced (incision of the ripe capsule) to collect opium for illegitmate exploitation. The novel approach is therefore to invent and develop an opiumless and alkaloid-free variety of opium poppy which can serve as a cheap and permanent means to control opium abuses across the world.
Furthermore poppy seeds are rich in protein and minerals hence a good source of energy with caloric value 100 g=2050 KJ (cf. Te""te""nyl, Horticulture Reviews, Vol. 19: 373, 1997). As such, they are widely used as an additive, especially in fish curry, in a soft drinkxe2x80x94Thandai and in Posta-Halva (a delicious sweet dish) and in confectionary/bakery. Poppy seeds also have some anti-carcinogenic property as reflected by experimental search (Aruna, Food Chem. Toxicol. 30: 11, 1992; Burger, Burger""s Medicinal Chemistry, Part II. A Wiley Interscience Publication, 1140, 1979).
Iranians consider the poppy seeds aphrodisiac, constipating and tonic due to the presence of fatty acids, minerals, enzymes, etc. (Nergiz and Oties, J. Sci. Food Agr. 66: 117, 1994).
Still further, poppy seeds contain high proportion of (edible) vegetable oil which is rich in unsaturated faty acids, particularly oleic acid and linoleic acid (Wealth of India: Raw Materials Vol. 7: 234 and 246, 1966). The latter tends to lower down the blood cholesterol in human beings (of Singh et al., Indian J. agric. Sci. 60: 358, 1990), hence poppy seed oil might be useful as a dietary control of coronary heart disease in human beings. The linoleic acid is also the precursor of prostaglandins which maintain skin-growth, kidney-function and fertility (Burger, Burger""s Medicinal Chemistry, Part II. A Wiley Interscience Publication, 1140, 1979). Besides, poppy oil is also used against diarrhoea, dysentry and scalds. It is also extensively used for culinary purposes and salad dressing. Several other uses of poppy seeds and oil have been reported by Te""te""nyl (Horticulture Reviews, Vol. 19: 373, 1997).
However, production of such valuable poppy seeds and seed-oil both has always been restricticted due to lack of a non-narcotic which can be extensively cultivated safely without any risk of the opium and opium alkaloids involved in drug trafficking. Therefore, it also calls for inventing and developing a non-narcotic poppy varietyxe2x80x94virtually a xe2x80x98seed poppyxe2x80x99 which is not only opiumless and alkaloid-free, but also a high yielder of seeds containing high proportion of protein and particularly unsaturated fatty acids in its oil.
The main object of the present invention is, therefore, to develop an opiumless and alkaloid-free (non-narcotic) variety of opium poppy (P. somniferum L.) which can provide a cheap and permanent solution to the problems of opium-linked social abuses across the world.
Another object of the present invention is to genetically improve the seed-yield potential (Posta dana/Khus-Khus) which is impressively rich in protein hence a highly nutritive food component of high caloric value.
Still another object is to select for genetically enhanced capacity of seeds to synthesize more oil content which is largely unsaturated, hence may serve as a natural dietary control of coronary heart disease and a viable supplement to production of vegetable oil in the country.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata characterized by the following morphological/agronomic features:
The invention further provides an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata with 20.8 to 23.9% total seed protein.
The invention further provides an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata comprising the following oil content and composition:
The invention further provides a method for the development of an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata by induced mutagenesis which comprises:
(a) Selecting two high yielding opium varieties as parental materials designated as C1 and C2 for treatment with both physical and chemical mutagens;
(b) Preparing eight samples containing at least 100 seeds of each of the C1 and C2 parents;
(c) irradiating five samples of both C1 and C2 with gamma rays (80Co) at 10, 20, 40, 60 and 80 kR doses;
(d) Treating the 6th sample with 0.4% aqueous ethyle methane sulfonate (EMS) alone and subjecting the 7th sample to combined treatment of gamma radiation at 20 kR dose followed by 0.4% treatment with aqueous EMS in both C1 and C2;
(e) Leaving the 8th sample in each of the two parentsxe2x80x94C1 and C2 untreated to be used as xe2x80x98controlxe2x80x99;
(f) Growing all the 8 samples including xe2x80x98controlxe2x80x99 of both C1 and C2 parents in paired rows forming M1 generation and selfing 15-20 plants by bagging in each of the treatments including xe2x80x98controlsxe2x80x99 in both parents before flowering;
(g) Collecting selfed seeds on maturity in C1 and C2 based on phenotypic appearance and disease resistance separately for each treatment;
(h) Raising the seeds in step (g) in plant-to-progeny rows forming M2 generation alongwith interspersed paired rows of parental controls;
(i) Subjecting the matured capsules formed 15-20 days after flowering in each and every plant of the M2 families and the two parental xe2x80x98controxe2x80x99 to xe2x80x98Ray-Pluck Methodxe2x80x99 for rapid examination of the presence or absence of latex oozing out on plucking a ray or two of the capsule;
(j) identifying the latexless (LL) and partial latex (PL) plants in each of the M2 families using xe2x80x98Ray-Pluck Methodxe2x80x99 and collecting the open pollinated seeds of LL and PL plants separately;
(k) Raising the suspected LL/PL mutant genotypes/plants again in plant-to-progeny (paired) rows forming M3 families together with paired rows of the two controls in M3 generation and selfing all the plants by bagging in each of the M3 families before the commencement of flowering;
(l) Repeating xe2x80x98Ray-Pluck Methodxe2x80x99 in all the suspected M3 families and isolating the M3 families relating to combined treatment of C1 with confirmed LL and PL mutant genotypes/plants followed by collecting separately selfed seeds of all the LL/PL plants on maturity;
(m) Re-confirming the LL/PL plants by xe2x80x98Ray-Pluck Methodxe2x80x99 and increasing their genetic purity through selfing/inbreeding by growing them again in plant-to-progeny (multiple)rows along with variable rows of C1 control (M4 generation) followed by collecting selfed seeds separately on maturity.
The invention provides a further method for identifying latexless/partial latex opium poppy variety which comprises plucking of one or two astigmatic rays located on the top of the capsule of a plant to observe the flow or oozing out of latex, the said method being called as xe2x80x98Ray-Pluck Methodxe2x80x99.
In an embodiment of the invention, the parental material comprises the strain Mass-2B as C-1 and var. Shweta as C-2 in the development of opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sugata.
In another embodiment of the invention, treatment with physical mutagen comprises gamma radiation in the development of an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata.
In another embodiment of invention, the treatment with chemical mutagen comprises the treatment with ethyl methane sulfonate in the development of an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, screening for the presence or absence of latex (raw opium) in capsule comprises a xe2x80x98Ray-Pluck Methodxe2x80x99 in the development of an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the invention further provides an opiumless and alkaloid-free non-narcotic opium poppy designated as var. Sujata comprising the seeds deposited at NCIMB Ltd, U.K., bearing the accession Provisional accession No.41009.
Var. Sujata has been developed through special effort of mutation breeding, representing genetic transformation of narcotic xe2x80x98opium poppyxe2x80x99 into a non-narcotic xe2x80x98seed poppyxe2x80x99. Being opiumless and alkaloid-free, var. Sujata offers a cheap and permanent means of combating opium-like social abuses across the world. Besides, as it is non-narcotic, it can be safely grown as a food crop, the seeds of which are very nutritious due to high proportion of protein therein. Also, its seeds contain high percentage of oil which is largely unsaturated due to high proportions of oleic and linoleic acids. Hence, it is a very healthy edible oil providing a natural dietary control of coronary heart disease caused by high blood cholesterol. Thus, var. Sujata is definitely of great utility of human beings.